Numerous sites in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties are offering free tax help to low-income and senior taxpayers during this tax filing season.

The local sites are among the the 450 plus in the New York Metro area that are operating in partnership with the Internal Revenue Service and nonprofit and community organizations. The sites are designed to offer free tax help to people who earn less than $39,000 or seniors who are 60 and older.

“Each year, the IRS trains groups of volunteers to prepare basic tax returns for free,� IRS Territory Manager James Duffy said in a written statement. “Once training has been completed, the volunteers set up sites within their community to assist their neighbors with tax return preparation.�

Last year volunteers prepared more than 77,000 tax returns for taxpayers in the metro area.

The volunteers are trained in basic tax law and are familiar with the qualifications for tax credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit. The new limits for earned income or adjusted gross income are less than $36,348 with more than one qualifying child, less than $32,001 with one qualifying child and less than $12,120 with no qualifying child, according to the IRS. The income limits are $2,000 higher if taxpayers file as married filing jointly. For tax year 2006, the credit can be as much as $4,536.

In Rockland, participating sites are Kings Daughters Library in Garnerville, Nanuet Public Library, New City Library, Nyack Library, Pearl River Public Library, Finkelstein Memorial Library in Spring Valley, Martin Luther King Multiple Purpose Center in Spring Valley, Suffern Free Library, Village of Suffern and Valley Cottage Library.

Sites in Westchester are Greenburgh Multipurpose Center in Ardsley, Eastchester Public Library, Katonah Village Library, Fox Center in Mount Kisco, Mount Vernon Public Library, One Stop in Mount Vernon, New Rochelle Public Library, Interfaith Council for Action in Ossining, Ossining Public Library, Field Library in Peekskill, Mount Pleasant Public Library in Pleasantville, Port Chester Public Library, John C. Hart Memorial Library in Shrub Oak, Warner Public Library in Tarrytown, One Employment Center in White Plains, Theodore D. Young Community Center in White Plains, Bronx River Road Community Center in Yonkers, Educational Opportunity Center in Yonkers, St. John’s Riverside Hospital in Yonkers, Will Library in Yonkers and Yorktown Community Center in Yorktown Heights.
Sites in Putnam are American Legion Memorial Hall in Cold Spring, Kent Public Library in Kent Lakes, Office for the Aging in Carmel, Patterson Library and Putnam Valley Free Library in Putnam Valley.

For more information, taxpayers can call the IRS at 800-829-1040.

Taxpayers should bring the following items to the sites — photo identification; valid Social Security cards for the taxpayer, spouse and dependents; birth dates for primary, secondary and dependents on the tax return; current year’s tax package, if received; wage and earning statements Form W-2, W-2G, 1099-R, from all employers; interest and dividend statements from banks (Forms 1099); a copy of last year’s federal and state returns, if available; bank routing numbers and account numbers for direct deposit; other relevant information about income and expenses; total paid for day care; and the day care provider’s identifying number.

In addition to free tax return preparation assistance, most sites offer free electronic filing.